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Funeral Ceremonies for Ebrahim Raisi to Begin Soon; Iran's Late President to Be Buried in Mashhad on Thursday; Iran Declares Five Days of Mourning After Helicopter Crash; Trump's Defense Team Attacks Key Witness; Michael Cohen Admits on the Stand He Stole From Trump Organization; Judge Clears Court in Trump Hush Money Trial After Scolding Defense Witness for Improper Behavior; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Official Term Ends, With No Elections In Sight. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 21, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:49]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming on CNN Max in the United States. I'm Paula Newton.

Just ahead for us, with a funeral for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi set to begin soon, we'll take a look at how Iranians around the globe are reacting to his death.

The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court tells CNN he's seeking arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel for possible war crimes.

And Volodymyr Zelenskyy's five year term in office has officially expired. But the Ukrainian president has no plans to step down or call an election while the war is still raging.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Paula Newton.

NEWTON: And we do begin this hour in Iran where funeral prayers and ceremonies will start for President Ebrahim Raisi after he and eight others were killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend. Procession is expected to get underway soon in the Northwest city of Tabriz. The first stop before ceremonies are held in other cities in the days ahead.

Now, a video released earlier by our on state media shows the caskets carrying the late president and the country's foreign minister who was also killed in the helicopter when it went down.

In Tehran, meantime, crowds turned out to pay their respects to Raisi on Monday as the country began five days of official mourning.

And the country's acting President Mohammad Mokhber held a meeting on Monday, Iran now looks ahead to presidential election scheduled for June 28th. The president was killed in his helicopter when it crashed in a remote mountainous area of Iran's East Azerbaijan province. The country's military chief has now appointed a commission to investigate what caused the deadly crash.

CNN correspondents are following all the developments for us. Paula Hancocks is standing by in Abu Dhabi. Anna Coren is following the latest from Hong Kong.

And, Paula, I do want to start with you as we are waiting for the ceremonies to get underway. What can we expect?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Paula, this is going to be a multi-day ceremony for this -- the funeral for these nine individuals. Now we know that the bodies at the moment are into Greece. This is the city that was really closest to the location of that crash.

And very soon, we are expecting to see a procession through that city. It'll start in the Martyrs Square, and then there'll be a funeral procession going to the prayer hall of that city. We should expect to see many government supporters following that procession as well.

Now, later on Tuesday, the bodies will then be transferred to the holy Shiites city of Qom where they will be funeral prayers in that city. And then later this evening on to Tehran, the capital.

Then on Wednesday, there will be funeral prayers in the Grand Mosalla Mosque in Tehran. There will be the next day on to Birjand and then Mashhad and this at the Imam Reza mosque is where we are expecting to see the Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, he will be conducting prayers over the body of the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

So, there will be five days of mourning. It will be an extensive funeral procession through a number of cities as I've just outlined. And there are also some countries surrounding Iran, some in the neighborhood that are having their own days or three days in Lebanon's case of mourning, as well.

So, showing respect for the Iranian president, also the the foreign minister and seven others that were in that helicopter.

Now, at the same time as we're looking at the status of mourning in the country itself. And of course there will only be one portion of the population that will be mourning. It's certainly not going to be across the board.

But we're also looking at what happens next. And we know now that there will be an election called on June the 28th.

[02:05:07]

So, at the moment, there is the vice president has become the acting president and the vice foreign minister has become the acting foreign minister, that happened very quickly after the bodies were found at the location of the helicopter crash and it was clear what had happened. There is a real sense of wanting to show a sign stability within the

country. We heard from the supreme leader himself saying there will be no disruption to the running of Iran. And that is a message that we have heard repeatedly from different Iranian officials, including the acting president as well saying, while they mourn, and while there are condolences for those who have lost their lives, there will be no disruption, it will be business continuing as normal.

And that is really a message that they are at pains to highlight at this point. And of course, on the third strand as well, the investigation into what exactly did happen will be underway, the chief of staff has ordered there to be an investigation. We know there will be one of the military commanders, also technical experts are going to go to the area of the crash and try and ascertain exactly what happened on Sunday when that helicopter came down.

We've heard from Turkey's transportation minister speaking on state T.V., insinuating that, as far as they're concerned at this point, it does appear as though it may have been due to foggy weather. They also point out that the signal system on the helicopter was either switched off or not working at the time of the crash as in the minutes afterwards, they were trying to detect a signal and we're unable to.

So, these are all the elements that this investigation team will be looking at. We know that the weather was extremely bad. We know that the foggy conditions gave little visibility, we could see that from the rescue teams themselves. They were unable to put a helicopter up to help their rescue and search because they said it was simply too dangerous.

And of course, they will be looking at whether it could have been a mechanical faults, human error, foul play, although interestingly, we're not hearing from the official site of Iran that foul play could have been a part of this, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, certainly alluding to technical issues and as you've been pointing out, Paula, the weather was not good and everyone can see that.

Now, as we are standing by here, we are looking at live pictures of the mourners waiting for that procession to get underway in Tabriz.

Anna, listen, it's hard to gauge whether or not any of the mourning that we're seeing here is truly spontaneous, certainly a faction of the country. Definitely the religious hardliners are mourning, but what more can you tell us about the reaction inside of Iran and also outside the country?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For sure, we don't know whether this is genuine and all, you know, this is how these people feel but sure, he must have had his supporters. He was of course the president, but he was also despised by many.

He was referred to as the Butcher of Tehran, the hanging judge for his role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners back in 1988. And we heard from the State Department earlier today, and they said,

Raisi, had blood on his hands as president, he oversaw the strict morality laws that Iran has enforced, which led to the protests and then that bloody crackdown across the country executions have resulted from that.

And even within the conservatives, he was widely unpopular, as we're seeing government supporters gathering for prayers. But we've also seen on social media celebration, particularly among those considered part of the resistance, you know, these videos that we've seen online, fireworks in in Kurdistan, and then inside Iran, people who are not showing their faces, fearing, you know, retaliation and retribution from the government, because they're obviously celebrating what is considered a national tragedy.

But I want to read to you one of the translations from one of the women who posted a video and she said, I never thought I would be happy with someone's death. I congratulate everyone on the death of the Iranian prison, especially the family of those who sacrifice their lives, their wealth and their children for the freedom of Iran, I hope for happier times for the people of Iran.

You see people offering sweets, once again, something they do when they celebrate a -- you know, a happy occasion. And then there was another video of a woman who was part of the protests in 2022. She was shot by a police with a -- with a pellet gun and is now blinded in one eye. And she is there dancing with her friends, saying, we will return to Iran with the same pieces of luggage she's in Germany in self- exile.

[02:10:06]

You know, a lot of the women of color who have posted videos were either part of the protests have moved away or still part of the protests inside Iran or they are the mothers of the children who have been disappeared or executed over the years for taking part in the social unrest, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, families who couldn't find their loved ones for hours or days only to find that they had died in custody. Paula Hancocks for us in Abu Dhabi and Anna Coren in Hong Kong, we will continue to follow certainly the procession as it begins. Thanks so much.

Now to the announcement from the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court seeking the arrest of top Hamas and Israeli officials. Karim Khan is asking a panel of judges to issue warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Khan says they should face charges for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the October 7th terror attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Now, the announcement came in an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Israel's defense minister and two other Hamas leaders also targets of that report. The decision puts Mr. Netanyahu in the company of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the late Libyan strong man Muammar Gaddafi. The Israeli leader calls the move a "travesty of justice", listen.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The outrageous decision by the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, to seek arrest warrants against the democratically elected leaders of Israel is a moral outrage of historic proportions. It will cast an everlasting mark of shame on the International Court.

What a travesty of justice, what a disgrace. The prosecutor's absurd charges against being Israel's defense minister are merely an attempt to deny Israel the basic right of self-defense.

And I assure you of one thing, this attempt will utterly fail. 80 years ago, the Jewish people were totally defenseless against our enemies. Those days are over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: U.S. President Joe Biden says the idea of issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders is outrageous. CNN's Senior White House Correspondent Kayla Tausche has our report.

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House offering a blistering if brief response to news that the ICC intends to obtain arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders. That statement on behalf of President Biden reading the ICC prosecutor's application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous. And let me be clear, Biden says, whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence, none, between Israel and Hamas.

At an event at the White House celebrating Jewish American Heritage, President Biden reiterated that forceful condemnation, and again argued that the ICC has no jurisdiction in Israel.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me be clear: we reject the ICC's application of arrest warrants against the Israeli leader. Whatever these warrants may imply, there's no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. And it's clear that Israel wants to all do all it can to ensure civilian protection.

But let me be clear, contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice, what's happening is not genocide.

TAUSCHE: The ICC announcement is separate from another case being heard in front of the International Court of Justice. South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in the wars waged in Gaza in the wake of the October 7th attacks.

NSC's Spokesman John Kirby said that the administration believes that Israel has not intended to cause civilian death in Gaza, the same way that it believes that Vladimir Putin is responsible for intending to cause mass civilian death in Ukraine in the war it's waging there. Even so, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was on the ground in

Israel as this news broke, meeting with officials from that country, including Israel's defense minister. Sullivan again reiterating deep concerns about the potential for more civilian deaths if Israel were to go forward with an incursion in Rafah.

Now, in the U.S., GOP lawmakers are working on a nascent effort to potentially respond with new sanctions on ICC officials. If those arrest warrants are obtained, the Biden administration is remaining in close touch with members of Congress, but so far has not said whether it would support those efforts.

Kayla Tausche, CNN, the White House.

NEWTON: Now, the decision by the chief ICC prosecutor to seek those arrest warrants still must be approved by a panel of judges. Here's part of Christiane Amanpour's exclusive interview with Karim Khan.

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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: The word genocide has been used by both sides, and many believe that genocide is being committed, but you do not, you're not using that word.

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KARIM KHAN, ICC CHIEF PROSECUTOR: Well, this is an active investigation, and we have criminal charges that we can use, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. In relation to this current stage of investigations, the charges that we have put forward to the judges do not include genocide. But we are continuing to investigate. It's a very complex situation. We've not been allowed access into Gaza by the Israeli authorities. We're also continuing our investigations in relation to the Hamas attacks and if and when the evidence points us in a particular direction, we will not hesitate to act.

So, it's still an active investigation, but yes, today we haven't.

AMANPOUR: What is extermination?

KHAN: It's mass killing.

AMANPOUR: Different than genocide?

KHAN: Yes. Genocide is defined by a specific intent. Not only killing, but an intention to destroy the group in whole or in part. So, it's a specific intent to destroy the group in whole or in part.

So, we're not -- we have not included in our application today a request for warrants for the crime of genocide.

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NEWTON: Now, Karim went on to explain the purpose of the International Criminal Court and he and his team -- how he and his team arrived at their decision, listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: But first, I want to ask you about the so-called political nature that many people will claim.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has already said, ICC charges would be a scandal on a historic scale, an indelible stain on the idea of justice. Israel's commitment to international law is unwavering. And Netanyahu has also said it would be an anti-Semitic hate crime.

What do you say to that? There must have been a huge amount of pressure on you from all sides to do and not to do.

KHAN: Well, this court, Christiane, is the childhood of Nuremberg. It was built because of the awful pictures that haunt us today of the Shoah and the gas chambers and then the Balkans and the list goes on.

And we have to look at the evidence. And the way I very simply try to do things is look at the evidence, look at the conduct, look at the victims and airbrush out the nationality. And if a crime has been committed, we should move forward.

Nobody is above the law. No people by dint of birth or passport, religion, nationality, or the color of their skin have a get out of jail free card, have a free pass to say, well, the law doesn't apply to us.

At the end of the day, I go back to this basic premise, a child in Myanmar that's persecuted, or a child in Israel that is an orphan or that has been taken and killed, or one in Ukraine, for their family, there's no difference. Their universe has been torn to shreds. And this is the need for the court, an independent judges to scrutinize, not look at the politics, not look at a dysfunctional security council, not look at the difficulties it may cause regional organizations or different groupings, but simply say, is the evidence reliable?

And if so, we go back to King John, that the king is under no man but God on the law. We all must be subject to that. Otherwise, what is this international rules-based system? What is the principles of public international law that so many men and women have given their lives for since the Second World War particularly?

And I think it's a dishonor for them. It's a dishonor for the victims of the gas chambers if we airbrush out inconvenient truths. And we have to try our best to achieve justice for the victims of the 7th of October. We also must try our best to do justice for so many innocent people that are suffering as we speak in Israel and also in Gaza, as well as in other parts of Palestine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Christiane Amanpour there in her exclusive interview with the ICC prosecutor. OK, still to come for us, Ukrainian troops are trying to hold off Russia's advances near Kharkiv. The U.S. Defense Secretary is warning things could get worse. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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NEWTON: Ukraine says it has managed to stall Russian advances near the country's northern border. Russia has been targeting the embattled town of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, but Ukrainian officials say their forces now control about 60 percent of the town adding the situation in the region is in their word stabilized. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Russia is obliterating Ukrainian villages and bombarding civilian infrastructure in its renewed assault on Kharkiv.

He also warned that Russia will try to make further advances in Ukraine urging allies to send more air defense support to Ukraine urgently. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that military aid from the U.S. and other allies was delayed for far too long.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Every decision to which we all together eventually arrive at comes about one year late. This is my view. This is how things are.

We received patriots in the beginning when there were very few drones operational, when they were using missiles, and had they seen the missiles are being shot down, they would have understood that it was pointless to target energy infrastructure on a massive scale, there would not have been any blackouts.

More importantly, we would have been able to protect the majority of our power generating capacity. But we have what we have, one big step forward, but before that, two steps back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So, consider also that Monday marked the official end of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's five-year term in office, the country is fending off relentless Russian attacks, millions of Ukrainians are living overseas and certain civil liberties are suspended still at this hour under martial law.

Because of all of that, there are in fact no plans for a presidential election anytime soon. Mr. Zelenskyy, ran for office in 2019 on a platform of democratic transparency and anti-corruption, but now war is throwing Ukraine's future and those promises in doubt.

Journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk joins me now from Kyiv. And I want to thank you for joining us as we try and get a perspective on what really is a tremendous day when you think about it. Those elections certainly suspended indefinitely.

You know, everyone I'm sure understands that that election would divert attention and resources. But how are Ukrainians feeling about this delay? I mean, do they want a hard date for a new election? NATALIYA GUMENYUK, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: So, I should say after the

very first year, when, you know, like we were -- people were cautious about like being critical to the government because it was such a shock. The politic is back for over the year in Ukraine with investigation, reshuffle of the government, various political scandals, you know, discussion within the position, all is there.

Yet, of course, the martial law doesn't allow Ukraine to hold their election mainly due to security reason, but there are some systemic reason to do that. We have millions people abroad who won't vote, millions of the Ukrainians fighting on the front line who won't be able to participate.

And first of all, of course, there are security threats, because yet, if not missiles attack in Kyiv, it could be anywhere. We can't have here the observers, for instance, if they come.

But the major thing -- so Ukrainians would be OK with the elections if there would be the capacity to have this election.

So, now, if you speak about the political thing, President Zelenskyy remains popular, there is no clear opponent to him.

[02:25:02]

To be honest, opposition is not very much keen to have this elections because they think that Zelenskyy is still very popular. So, they would better prefer to delay the election to the moment he won't be in a year or so.

Ukraine need to figure out the way how to cast the vote in the secure way, because it's really something to change the legislation in very thoroughly. Ukrainian constitution was written in the time when nobody here anticipated the war. So, it's really like changing so so many things, but maybe important.

You mentioned Zelenskyy being elected on the platform of you know, anti-corruption and transparency. That's one part. He was elected on the platform of the peace negotiation with Vladimir Putin, which he did, and which he not like failed, happened to be naive.

So, his opposition is -- and the people why if there would be people not satisfied with Zelenskyy, it's really for being too soft in the war, for not being kind of too harsh with maybe having less freedoms, you know, and having like more military economy, and more like tough leadership during the war, so kind of the opposite would sometimes people think in the West.

NEWTON: But I do want to try and get to the nuance of what's going on here. Because while we saw so many, really practically the whole country rally around the president at the start of the war, it's changed, right? There has been more of an appetite, would you say for some type of negotiation for Russia? Or is it the opposite, that they want to stand up to Russia more definitively? It is an issue, right? President Zelenskyy has not been able to deliver on either to this point. GUMENYUK: So, exactly. The idea is that there should be more tough

position on Russia, more militarized society. If you speak about the opposition to Zelenskyy. So, Zelenskyy is more moderate.

But we couldn't say that he failed, the point that he did everything possible and the Ukrainian partners could confirm that just the choice to negotiate with Russia was, you know, deceptive to him. So, part of the Ukraine in society, if you speak about those who oppose him, and who are like more vocal today saying that he was always too soft, he was not to kind of tough in case of, you know, being tough on Russia.

NEWTON: Which is why you have an election right to definitively be able to put on the table what do Ukrainians want going forward. We understand that won't happen for a while, and yet, corruption, right? We mentioned it, it is still an issue.

Is there resentment among Ukrainians that government reforms, transparency, that they've now been put off indefinitely?

GUMENYUK: It's not absolutely the case. Because within this war, you know, as you know, Ukraine has received the status -- not the status of the E.U. member, but there was declared that it will join the E.U. And within this time, during the war, a number of the reforms was made.

So, in spite of the war, Ukraine is progressing in this reform, and the most important thing, you know, it's not just about the President Zelenskyy. If after 2014 first invasion of Russia and Euromaidan revolution, Ukraine didn't succeeded with numbers of the reforms on the transparency, we probably doubt to have this support of the West and this trust of the partner.

So, actually, all the reforms are happening and (INAUDIBLE) hindering by the war. They're hindered by the war --

NEWTON: But even -- but even members of his own government have been denounced and let go with over accusations of corruption.

GUMENYUK: I was -- I'm not very sure what are you speaking about. You speak in -- the shuffle in the government, there are minor scandals, but there is no corruption scandal in the government.

There are questions about efficiency of the running, I'm speaking about like, you know, the level of the minister not on the level of the small bureaucrats, you know, on the city level or on the council. These things of course happening. And of course, it's really the Ukrainian task to fight that and this fight is ongoing and unfortunately tended by the war.

NEWTON: Certainly coping with so much, Nataliya wise. That's why it's so important for us really to get the perspective on the ground there in Kyiv.

Nataliya Gumenyuk, thank you so much, really appreciate it.

Now, still to come for us, Iranians mourn the death of late president Ebrahim Raisi.

Still ahead, a look at what's next for the country as it grapples to fill the huge political gap and leadership.

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[02:31:56]

NEWTON: We are keeping a close eye on developments in Iran where large crowds have now gathered at this hour for the start of funeral prayers and ceremonies for President Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi and eight others were killed in a helicopter crash over the weekend. The northwest city of Tabriz is the first stop for the funeral procession, followed by ceremonies held in other cities over the next several days.

And you are looking at video right now of that precession that is about to get underway. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all these developments for us. She joins us now, live from Abu Dhabi. This is going to be quite a staging. It's been put together, obviously, very quickly as per tradition, but it is going to last several days.

HANCOCKS: Yes, this is -- this is definitely a multi-day funeral ceremony that we'll be seeing starting shortly in Tabriz. This is the city, the closest city in the northwestern part of Iran, closest to the location of the helicopter crash on Sunday. And from here, there will be a procession through the streets from the Martyrs Square and there will be funeral prayers we understand as well. And from there, the bodies will be transported to a number of different cities.

They will be transported to the holy Shiite city of Qom. We know also that there will be Tehran ceremonies that will be the largest as far as we can tell, this will be for all of the nine victims on board that helicopter, and there will be funeral prayers said in the Grand Mosalla Mosque. This is expected to attract many of the government supporters in Tehran. It has also been declared as a day off for -- a national holiday for all the officers around the country, actually, so that they can participate in these processions and these ceremonies.

And although President Raisi had many who despised him in the country, there are also those who did support him and supports what the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands for. So, there will be a sizable crowd, these that do support what the government is doing. And then on Thursday, just the body of the late president will be taken to the city of Birjand and then Mashhad where he will be in the historic Imam Reza shrine. And this is where the supreme leader will be conducting prayers over the late president's body.

He will then be laid to rest later on Thursday in Mashhad. So, it is a multi-day event. We will be expecting, as we can see from the pictures there, to see hundreds, thousands of people on the streets being part of these possessions, showing their respects for the president. Of course, there is the other side as well. We see some people who have fallen victim to what this president stood for celebrating his demise.

[02:35:00] HANCOCKS: But certainly, what Iran and Tehran would like the rest of the world to see over the next few days, is this very public mourning, showing respect to the president. Interestingly, very, very quickly in the hours after the bodies were found of the president, the foreign minister and seven others, the promotions started. There is now an acting president. There is an acting foreign minister, and everybody in an official capacity is saying that there will be no disruption to the running of Iran.

So at the same time as we are seeing this very public morning, we are also hearing a very public statement that there is stability in the country. This clearly will rattle the country domestically, having to have elections within 50 days. June the 28th, we know, is going to be the election day now and there will be jostling for positions. And certainly, it is going to cause some uncertainty domestically. But internationally, what Iran is trying to do at the moment is show a sign of mourning and stability. Paula?

NEWTON: Yeah, we will continue to keep an eye on that procession. We've had some sweeping views of really -- it is been less than 48 hours since the helicopter even went missing. And so, this is all being choreographed, as you pointed out, in several cities across Iran. Paula Hancocks for us, as you continue to keep an eye on that, really appreciate it.

Still to come for us, the Donald Trump hush money case enters the home stretch with defense attorneys painting the star witness as not just a liar, also a thief.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: After calling 20 witnesses over several weeks, the prosecution has rested its case in the Donald Trump hush money criminal trial, and the defense could do the same in the coming day. Star witness and former Trump fixer, Michael Cohen's testimony wrapped on Monday with the defense getting him to acknowledge stealing from the Trump Organization. More now from CNN's Kara Scannell.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After four weeks of testimony, prosecutors rested their case in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial, just after their star witness, Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen concluded more than 17 hours of dramatic testimony over four days.

Trump's attorney Todd Blanche intensely attacked Cohen's credibility over multiple days, trying to paint him as a liar who is motivated by money.

MICHAEL COHEN, DONALD TRUMP'S FORMER LAWYER AND FIXER: I just want to get through this, so that I can start my own life again.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Blanche got Cohen to admit that he stole from the Trump Organization. Cohen confirmed he paid a tech company $20,000 instead of the $50,000 that was owed by Trump. But Cohen asked Trump to be repaid the full amount, which was double to cover taxes.

[02:40:00]

SCANNELL (voice-over): Ultimately, Cohen admitted he kept around $60,000 for himself. Blanche asked, "So, you stole from the Trump Organization?" "Yes, sir," Cohen replied. Cohen said he was angry about getting a low annual bonus. Earlier in the trial, Cohen told prosecutors he requested the full reimbursement because that's what was owed and I didn't feel Mr. Trump deserved the benefit of the difference. On Monday, Cohen admitted it was wrong to have taken the money.

Cohen defended his character during testimony to Congress in 2019.

COHEN: I understand. I have lied but I am not a liar. And I have done bad things. But I am not a bad man.

SCANNELL (voice-over): After cross-examination concluded, prosecutors tried to clean up some of the damage done to Cohen's credibility. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked about repayments Cohen received from Trump for the $130,000 in hush money he provided to adult film star Stormy Daniels, which is the crux of the case.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is why I'm here because we called it a legal expense, payment to a lawyer.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Cohen testified that despite the 11 checks referring to a retainer agreement, he said no agreement existed because there was no legal work that I was to be paid for. Prosecutors played an audio clip for the jury of Cohen talking about Trump to Daniels' lawyer Keith Davidson about the payment.

COHEN (recording): And I can't even tell you how many times he said to me, you know, I hate the fact that we did it. And my comment to him was, but every person that you've spoken to told you it was the right move.

SCANNELL (voice-over): After the prosecution rested, the defense started calling witnesses, including Robert Costello, who once served as a legal adviser to Cohen. Costello was visibly frustrated as the judge sustained several objections from the prosecution, audibly saying geez and rolling his eyes. Judge Merchan became so angry, he briefly cleared the courtroom and addressed Costello.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, I want to thank you for joining us. I am Paula Newton. "World Sport" is next. But we want to leave you now with more pictures from the scene in Tabriz, Iran where they continue with a highly choreographed funeral procession for the president and the foreign minister, and seven others who lost their lives in a helicopter crash.

We will continue to follow this through the coming hours. Stay with us.

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